High Desert Classic features equine athletes

It's hard to beat an equestrian Grand Prix for drama and the High Desert Classic delivered that in spades last weekend.

More than 40 competitors from across the nation performed in the Saturday evening Eagle Crest Grand Prix held at the J Bar J Youth Ranch. The event was part of an annual two-week series of hunter/jumper shows that benefit the youth program.

Bradley Cox of Mobile, Alabama, took the title Saturday night aboard Santa Teresita Dvvalin. The paint horse looked undersized compared to many of the magnificent warmbloods in the competition, but Cox made a daring run at the obstacles in the jump-off to win the $15,000 prize.

In a Grand Prix event, riders must clear a series of 10 to 14 jumps cleanly to qualify for a jump-off. The jump-off is conducted on a shortened course - and time becomes a factor.

Faults are applied for knocking down bars on a jump or for a horse refusing a jump. The fastest, cleanest run wins. Cox, a 24-year-old woman classed as an "amateur owner, "was fast and aggressive, taking jumps at a breakneck speed that raised gasps from the crowd and left fingernail prints in many an arm.

Another Grand Prix is set for Saturday, July 29.

While the Grand Prix are the pinnacle events, the High Desert Classic is filled with days of competition at a variety of levels, featuring professional and amateur riders in a variety of classes.

The action resumes on Wednesday at J Bar J and runs through the weekend.

The event is free for spectators and they get a thrill ride. Even those who aren't especially horse crazy could hardly fail to be enthralled by the display of athletic grace and raw courage of both horse and rider as they clear jumps that go as high as 4.5 feet.

The Classic is a massive undertaking. More than 700 horses are on hand and the J Bar J Ranch turns into a bedouin camp of tents and stables as riders haul in for what has become a premier West Coast horse event.

For more information visit http://www.jbar.org/horseshow.htm.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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